


Pale Moon Rising

by Jacie



Series: NCIS: Alpha Series [16]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Camping, Fire, Horses, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-29
Updated: 2012-09-29
Packaged: 2017-11-19 12:17:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/573183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jacie/pseuds/Jacie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony and Gibbs continue their vacation in the mountains.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pale Moon Rising

Tony was glad he had packed some warm clothes. The afternoons weren’t too uncomfortable once the sun had a chance to spread a little warmth around. Having a nice fire at night kept things comfortable until he and Gibbs found their way to the sleeping bags and then he had Gibbs to keep him warm throughout the night. It was the mornings that seemed so chilly. Gibbs was always up and gone before Tony awoke. 

When he did awaken, Tony would look over and find Gibbs wearing his boots, hoodie, down vest, jeans and gloves, always working. It seemed Gibbs couldn’t sit still and relax. He was either cooking, cleaning, hunting, hauling, skinning, chopping, fixing something or gone for a hike. Tony mostly liked to relax and watch Gibbs in motion.

“What?” Gibbs would demand whenever he caught Tony watching him work.

Tony would smile and shake his head. “I just like watching you.”

“Yeah?” Gibbs said, adjusting his gloves. “I wouldn’t mind watching you do some work.”

“Come on, Boss. I’m on vacation!”

“And I’m not? Think about the early settlers. Do you think they got to take a vacation?”

“They didn’t work such long hours back then.”

“Are you sure? They had to work sunup to sundown every day of their lives just to survive. Just to make sure there was food on the table. Just to make sure they stayed alive.”

“Guess they had it rough. Doesn’t mean we have to have it rough. Unless we want to.”

“You want rough, DiNozzo? Do you like it rough?”

Tony couldn’t stop the grin that appeared. “That sounds like a challenge.”

“Does it?” Gibbs was poised and ready.

Before he even left the warm comfort of the sleeping bags, Tony knew he was doomed. Still naked, he took off as fast as he could, heading for his duffle bag. No matter how he moved, how he stopped, started, turned and ran, Gibbs was always right there. It was only a matter of seconds before Gibbs tackled him and dropped him roughly to the ground.

“Are you cold, DiNozzo, or just happy to see me?”

“A little of both, I guess.”

The short burst of action in the high altitude left them both breathing harder than normal. Gibbs had his hands wrapped around Tony’s wrists, holding them high above his head and pinning him to the ground. He was sitting on top of Tony, right at his hips. His eyes met with Tony’s, studying each other.

Tony had stopped fighting back. His body felt warm wherever Gibbs was touching him. “Is that all you got, old man?”

“Old man? What’s this old man crap?” Gibbs asked as he released one of Tony’s wrists long enough to use his teeth to remove one of his gloves. A moment later, he was removing the other glove, while still keeping Tony firmly pinned. “I hope you aren’t in the habit of letting other men take you down so easily.”

“Did it occur to you that this was my plan?”

“This? Getting chased naked in the woods, then slammed to the ground and pinned?”

“Warmed me up a little bit. Sure is cold this morning, though. I could use a bit more warming up.”

“I’ll give you warm.”

“How about hot?”

“Is that how you like it, hot and rough?”

“Now you’re talking!”

“Show me what you’ve got, DiNozzo. If I were a criminal on the run, would you still let me take you down so easily?”

Kicking out his legs, Tony wriggled and fought against Gibbs’ grasp. “It’s not really fair, you know. I already let you take me down and pin me. I would never let a bad guy do that.”

Sitting up with a smile, Gibbs released his hold on Tony’s wrists. “Show me.”

Tony had the upper hand only for a moment before Gibbs had turned the tables on him and had him down on the ground again.

“Nice moves, Boss. Where did you learn all that?”

“In the Marines,” replied Gibbs, cupping Tony’s chin and leaning down for a kiss.

“Did they teach you anything about keeping warm?”

“Yeah. Stay alive, stay warm. Dying is a cold business.”

“Why did you bring me out here where it’s cold?”

Stretching out atop Tony, Gibbs ran his hands along Tony’s skin, watching as their breath blew out in wispy puffs, then disappeared into the morning air. “This is a good place to feel alive, a good place to think and a good place to reflect.”

“Not a bad place to get laid, either. At least that’s been my experience so far.”

Grasping Tony’s wrists again, Gibbs pushed him down, kissing him firmly on the mouth. Tony writhed beneath him, thrusting his hips upward. Tilting his head back, he offered his neck. With the temptation of skin before him, Gibbs licked along Tony’s jawline, then claimed his mouth once more.

Well after darkness fell upon them once more, Tony was drowsily rubbing his hand across Gibbs’ bare chest when Gibbs suddenly sat bolt upright. 

“What is it?”

“Shhh.”

Sitting upright beside Gibbs, Tony stared into the night. He listened, attempting to determine whatever sound may have awakened Gibbs. He’d learned months earlier that Gibbs was a light sleeper. He had been trained to be.

Gibbs sniffed the air then rose to his feet. “I smell burning wood.”

“Could that be, maybe, our fire?”

“No. It’s coming from the other direction. Wind is blowing this way. Get up, get dressed. We need to find out what it is.”

“Probably backpackers,” Tony said as he rubbed his face. 

“Perhaps.”

Knowing that Gibbs would never let this rest, Tony scrambled to his feet and dressed quickly. He had to move fast as Gibbs had already taken off at a brisk pace. Following the light of the lantern Gibbs had taken with him, Tony ran after him, tripping and falling in the darkness and the undergrowth. The light Gibbs carried stood out in the surrounding darkness, like the beacon he surely intended it to be.

It took several minutes for Tony to catch up with Gibbs, nearly knocking into him as he hadn’t realized Gibbs had stopped moving.

“Even I can smell it now.” 

“I can smell it and hear it. Definitely burning wood,” Gibbs said.

“Where is it coming from?”

Gibbs remained still and quiet for another minute, before motioning. “This way.”

“How are you going to feel if we’re stalking a couple of young backpackers?”

“It doesn’t seem right. I don’t hear people. It’s more of a smoldering.”

“Yeah? Probably because the people are asleep and their fire has burned low. It’s after midnight, Gibbs.”

Pushing onward, Gibbs would not be deterred. After moving quickly and quietly over a short distance, with Tony on his heels, Gibbs stopped suddenly and smelled the air again.

A loud pop caught Tony by surprise. “What the hell was that?”

“It’s not a fire dying down, DiNozzo. This one is smoldering, sparking and growing. This way.”

They hadn’t gone too much further before they came across a hazy smoke. “Are we walking into a forest fire?”

“Hopefully, we’re going to be preventing one. Take your shirt off.”

“Now?”

“Yes!”

Gibbs was quickly pulling off his hoodie and the T-shirt he wore beneath it. Tony followed his lead and saw what he was doing. There was a small creek nearby where Gibbs pushed his shirt and hoodie into the stream of clear water, soaking them thoroughly before pulling them back out. Tony did the same then followed Gibbs back through the trees until they found the one that was smoldering. The wisps of smoke escaping from it were growing stronger and thicker with each passing minute. 

Gibbs used his dampened clothing to slap at the burning tree, then wrung the water from the garments over the wood. “Hand me yours,” he commanded. “Take my stuff back to the creek and wet them down again.”

“Right.”

The pair worked together, with Tony running back and forth from the stream while Gibbs manned the front line fighting the fire that threatened and grew despite their efforts. Tony forced himself to continue his task even when his inner voice told him to run as far and as fast as he could.

Gibbs worked up a sweat as he fought to contain the flames that had burst forth and were spreading through the dried wood. Tony soon noticed the black smudges that appeared from the smoke. They were both coughing as the smoke grew worse and caused their eyes to water.

“Why don’t you take a break? I’ll take over.”

“Can’t, it’s spreading too fast.”

“I’ll stay and help.”

“Got to have the water,” insisted Gibbs.

“There isn’t enough. We can’t fight this alone.”

Pausing for a moment, Gibbs leaned forward, his hands on his thighs as he attempted to catch his breath, before looking up at Tony. “Are you giving up on me?”

“No, but we should go for help.”

“Do you think you can find your way back to the camp?”

Staring into the darkness, Tony tried to remember which direction they had come from. “I don’t know. It’s too dark. I don’t know. I’m not going to leave you behind!”

“You stay and fight back the flames.”

“You’re leaving me behind?”

“I’m going back for more gear. Don’t let it surround you, DiNozzo. You keep yourself safe.”

Tony swallowed hard as his memories came flooding back. “I’ve had a little experience with fires, Gibbs.”

“Good. Keep an eye on it and don’t let it trap you.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Gibbs moved swiftly, using his memory and tracking skills to find his way back to their campsite. After grabbing the axe and a couple of towels, he loosened the ropes tying the horses and the mule to trees. A light tug wouldn’t free them, but if they were frightened and pulled back with any force, they would be able to free themselves and get out of harm’s way.

By the time he returned, he found Tony struggling against the flames that had spread to a few nearby trees. “Sit down, DiNozzo, catch your breath.”

“Can’t. It’s getting worse.”

The pair worked until dawn, when help finally arrived. Nearby Park Rangers had seen the smoke and had gathered teams of firefighters to put out the blaze. The wind had spread the fire closer to their camp, but not too close. One of the Park Rangers had parked a short distance from the fire and offered Gibbs and Tony each a blanket to wrap around themselves and a bottle of water to drink.

They sat together on a downed tree near the Park Ranger’s vehicle, watching as the sun rose. “You look like you’ve had a rough night,” offered Tony.

Gibbs turned to look at him. Tony’s hair was messy and smudges of smoke were streaked across his face and body. “I thought you said you liked it rough,” teased Gibbs.

“Yeah. And I like things hot and sweaty, too. You’re a master at showing me a good time, that’s for sure.” After taking another sip from the water bottle, Tony asked, “What do you think happened? Careless smokers? Careless campers?”

The Park Ranger had returned, scribbling on a small pad of paper. “Looks like campers set their fire on top of tree roots. It happens more often than you think. Most people don’t take into consideration how far tree roots spread from the trees or how close to the surface they can be. A campfire can start the roots smoldering and the fire works its way back to the tree itself. I’m going to need your names for my report. You two did a great job keeping it from spreading any further than it did.” 

By the time they returned to their camp they found that only one of the horses had gotten loose, but was grazing nearby. “You should wash up, Tony. You look like hell.”

Gibbs never had to ask Tony twice to shed his clothing. “Too bad we don’t have a nice big tub we could share, because you look like hell, too.”

“Hurry up, before your pale ass burns in the sunshine.”

Tony followed after Gibbs to the nearby stream. Dipping one end of the towel into the water, Gibbs wetted it down then began using it to wipe the dirt and smoky smudges from Tony’s body. The cold water caused Tony to shiver more than once, but he wasn’t going to tell Gibbs to stop. Instead, he leaned forward to press their lips together and ended up pulling them both into the chilly stream.

As soon as they managed to clean themselves up, Gibbs made them a couple cups of cocoa and sat behind Tony, wrapping a blanket around him and pulling him back, allowing Tony to lean back against his chest. Together they looked over the trees and the stream near their campsite, enjoying the gentle radiant warmth of the sun.

“Are you happy, Jethro?”

Gibbs smiled and pressed a kiss against Tony’s ear. “Extremely.”

 

~~~END~~~  
September 29, 2012


End file.
